This invention relates to a fruit-containing confectionery candy product. More particularly, this invention relates to a candy bar product which contains a fruit center.
There is a continuing trend in the food product area to, as much as possible, incorporate natural components into food items. This is in response to the growing popularity of items such as granola bars, natural fruit bars and natural fruit roll-ups. These products maximize the use of natural food components and are considered to be nutritious and beneficial when taken as snacks. It is a present objective to produce a confectionery bar product which contains as the primary ingredients a natural fruit section and a nut section. The natural fruit section is present as a dried fruit substance which can range in consistency from a stiff gel material to a fruit leather material. The fruit section consists of a puree of one or more fruits which is dried to a water activity level of less than about 0.6 at 25.degree. C. The nut section will consist of nuts or pieces of nuts such as peanuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and mixtures of these nuts. It is necessary to have a composite water activity level for the final confectionery bar of less than about 0.50 at 25.degree. C. A water activity of level of less than about 0.50 at 25.degree. C. is necessary in order for the confectionery bar to have an effective shelf life. If the water activity level is above about 0.50 at 25.degree. C., other components of the confectionery bar will tend to take up some of the water and either be spoiled, lose flavor or lose desirable texture as in the cast of nut meats.
In a particular embodiment the present invention is directed to a confectionery candy bar product which has a fruit center which is encapsulated in a layer of caramel which in turn has a nut coating. Overlaying the nut coating is a compound coating, usually a chocolate flavored compound coating. In this product, the center fruit portion and the nut layer that is embedded in the caramel are the natural food materials that are incorporated into the bar. The caramel layer provides sweetening for the other components of the confectionery bar. The chocolate flavored compound coating enhances the flavor the confectionery bar as well as providing visual appeal. The compound coating also functions to cover the tacky caramel layer and thus make the confectionery bar easier to handle while it is being consumed.
It is known to make dried fruit products which are essentially natural products. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,222 discloses a process for making a dried fruit product which consists of peeling or coring fruit as necessary and then making a puree of the fruit. The fruit peels, in a comminuted state, can be added to the puree. This puree is then dried using a drum dryer to produce a product which has a final moisture content of less than about 1 percent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,033 discloses processes for preparing shelf-stable fruit pieces. The process consists of the steps of providing fresh fruit pieces, deactivating or retarding enzymatic browning, cooking in an acidified sugar syrup, sulfiding and dehydrating. The fruit pieces are soft in texture and have preferred water activity levels of about 0.5 to 0.7. The fruit pieces are not incorporated into a confectionery bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,552 discloses a confectionery item having an outer coating which is chocolate, an intermediate layer and a core. The core is a smooth textured material which has a nut, coffee, vanilla or other flavoring. The intermediate layer is a light, aerated fat material having less flavor than the core. This product does not contain any fruit components.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,050 discloses a process for producing a natural fruit candy by mixing enzyme deactivated and dehydrated fruit with enzyme deactivated fruit juice concentrate to provide a mixture in the form of a plastic mass having a moisture content of up to 50 percent by weight. This dehydrated plastic mass is then formed into fruit candy products. These candy products do not contain nuts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,126 discloses a method for producing a fruit-containing chocolate. The fruit is either a dried or a candied fruit. In this product the dried or candied fruits are incorporated directly into the chocolate. That is, the chocolate contains and is flavored by a fruit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,790 discloses a storage stable confection which does not require moisture resistant packaging. This is prepared by coating a crunchy core of cereal, dried fruits or nuts with alternate layers of chocolate and gasified candy. The core of the candy is either cereal, dried fruit, nuts or mixtures of these materials. This core is then caramelized by coating with a concentrated liquid sugar solution. Alternate layers of chocolate and gasified candy overlay this central core.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,772 discloses dried fruits that can be incorporated into a dry cereal. The dried fruits and cereal can be remain in contact for long periods of time without the water migrating from the dried fruits to the cereal grains. It is an object in this patent to have the water activity of the fruit to not differ by more than 0.35 from the water activity level of the cereal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,053 discloses food products in the form of a comestible base which contains major amounts of citrus juice and residual juice solids. Moisture is removed from the mixture during a cooking step during which the viscosity of the mixture increases considerably. These fruit preparations can be formulated into jams or into gel-like desserts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,093 discloses a food product which contains orange citrus juice vesicle solids. This fruit product has a moisture content of from about 8 percent to about 30 percent. This low moisture content combination of citrus juice vesicle solids can be formed into an orange fruit leather product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,176 discloses a candy product with a fruit flavor which is characterized by a chewy character, a taffy-like consistency, and slipperiness sufficient to avoid adhering to a person's teeth. This candy product is a corn syrup-based transluscent substrate having opaque dehydrated fruit particles randomly dispersed in this substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,172 discloses a fruit product which has a texture which is sensed on eating as being non-uniform. The texture is similar to that of soft-centered fruits such as gooseberries and cherries. This is prepared by a process in which fruit pulp or puree is admixed with alginate or pectate sol and brought into contact with dissolved calcium ion. This gels the sol and the fruit pulp or puree is distributed between a fluid or plastic core of the aglinate or pectate sol. The product is heated in a final step to prevent the core from becoming a firm gel. The intent here is to produce a simulated soft-centered fruit product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,766 discloses fruit-flavored hard candy comprising a hard candy matrix containing particles of freeze-dried fruit. The particles have been partially reconstituted and have a preserving and protective layer of sugar or corn syrup. In a preferred embodiment, the candy also contains natural or synthetic fruit flavors which correspond to the freeze-dried fruit which is contained in the candy.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,686,786 discloses a dried fruit product which optionally can have a chocolate coating. In this process the dried fruit is reduced to flakes and then the flakes compacted together to form a sheet or a slab of the dried fruit. After being cut into pieces, the dried fruit can be consumed or coated with chocolate.
Australian Patent No. 924,411 discloses a fruit and nut mixture product which consists of slabs, blocks or rods which consist of a plastic mass of one or more dried fruits and one or more nut components. The nuts are in a crushed or milled state. The final product is formed by compression in a mold or by extrusion. In this product, the nut and fruit components are thoroughly intermixed.
Besides the various confectionery products which are disclosed and discussed in these patents, there are other confectionery products which are currently in the marketplace. One of these is the confectionery bar sold under the name Baby Ruth. It has a water activity level in the range of about 0.43. This confectionery bar has a nougat center which is overlayed by a layer of caramel. The caramel contains a layer of nuts which is then overcoated with a chocolate layer. This product consists of a nougat center rather than a natural fruit center. As a result, this confectionery product is not considered to be as nutritious as a product which contains a natural fruit center.